Former Tide great assembles Ravens’ squad that will contend for Super Bowl win

Sunday

Feb 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Ozzie Newsome learned about building championship teams when he was playing on them at the University of Alabama. Newsome played on three Southeastern Conference championship teams with the Crimson Tide in the 1970s, with Alabama going 42-6 during his four-year career and finishing in the top five in the final polls three times, and never lower than 11th.

By Tommy DeasExecutive Sports Editor

Ozzie Newsome learned about building championship teams when he was playing on them at the University of Alabama.Newsome played on three Southeastern Conference championship teams with the Crimson Tide in the 1970s, with Alabama going 42-6 during his four-year career and finishing in the top five in the final polls three times, and never lower than 11th.When building the Baltimore Ravens as general manager of the National Football League franchise, the 59-year-old Muscle Shoals native had only to remember the formula Alabama used in his playing days. Newsome is the architect of the Ravens’ roster that will contend for the Super Bowl XLVII championship today in New Orleans.Newsome knew what a winner looked like by the time he graduated from UA. He knew the best football teams are built from the inside out, starting in the trenches.“The reason why we were able to win all the games that we won and contend for SEC championships and national championships, the line of scrimmage is always huge,” Newsome said. “When you are able to control the offensive line of scrimmage and the defensive line of scrimmage, you have a chance.“Then you have to have the skill players, because no matter how good you’re coaching it’s still going to come down to someone being able to make a play.”A college and pro football hall of fame member who twice garnered All-America honors with the Crimson Tide, Newsome has now built two Baltimore teams into Super Bowl participants. As vice president of player personnel, he built the Ravens into Super Bowl XXXV champions.“It’s a hard thing to do,” he said. “We did it in 2000 and we won it, and we’re back again.”Newsome obviously has an eye for talent, but he also has a system. He played for the Cleveland Browns from 1978-1990, and began his off-the-field career as a scout a year later with the Browns. Cleveland’s defensive coordinator was Nick Saban, now Alabama’s head coach, and Newsome sees the same system he has used to build the Ravens at work at UA.“We have a height/weight/speed chart, and I think Nick uses the same chart we use,” Newsome said. “We had the same chart when we were at Cleveland.”That chart gives the ideal range for players at each position, but there is more to the evaluation process.“Then you have your position specifics: a cornerback has to be able to play the ball in the air, for instance,” Newsome said.But there is still more.“You look at character,” he said. “You have to respect the game and the people.”A look at the Ravens’ starters tells a lot about Newsome’s formula for building a successful team. Linebacker Ray Lewis, who is expected to retire after today’s game, is the only holdover in the starting lineup from Newsome’s first Super Bowl team. The roster has been rebuilt through the draft, through trades and through free agent pick-ups.Newsome’s talent for evaluating draftees is immediately apparent. Starters like wideout Torrey Smith, guard Kelechi Osemele, tackle Michael Oher, tight end Ed Dickson, quarterback Joe Flacco, running back Ray Rice, defensive lineman Haloti Ngata, safety Ed Reed and linebackers Terrell Suggs and Courtney Upshaw were all targeted as first- and second-round selections, and all have risen to prominence within the Ravens system.Newsome has also traded for wideout Anquan Bolden and picked up free agents like center Matt Birk, cornerback Corey Graham and safety Bernard Pollard. Nose tackle Ma’ake Kemoeatu and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe were undrafted, scouted and signed by Baltimore as free agents who made the roster — Newsome brought Kemoeatu into the league as an undrafted player in 2000, then brought him back this season after he spent four seasons on other teams.It is clear that Newsome, even though he came from a powerhouse college program, will take talent from any level: Flacco played in college at Delaware, center Birk at Harvard and cornerbacks Corey Graham and Cary Williams at New Hampshire and Washburn College, respectively.“You have to make good choices,” Newsome said. “We have a process in place with the way we go about drafting. We have been successful. If a guy is on our board, we believe he can be a contributor.”And, of course, Baltimore has two Alabama players on its roster in linebacker Upshaw and second-string nose tackle Terrence Cody, also a second-round draft pick.“He was a dominant player in the run game,” Newsome said of Cody, taken in the 2010 draft. “No. 1, a player at some point has to win individual battles. You look at the film (from Cody’s two years at UA) and you see when it came time for him to control the center or the guard or take on the double-team, he was able to do that.”Newsome saw first-round value in Upshaw, but traded its first-round pick last spring to Minnesota to drop from the 29th overall selection to 35th, the third pick in the second round. Upshaw was still on the board, and the Ravens grabbed him. With the trade came a fourth-round pick, which Newsome used to grab backup center Gino Gradkowski, another Delaware product, who Newsome believes will start next season.“We had value on (Upshaw),” Newsome said. “We could have picked him in the first round, but there was a trade on the table to drop back and get an extra player.“With Courtney, we were able to get a guy who could really set the edge on defense. He stops the run, he rushes the passer and he drops back in coverage. That’s what he did at Alabama.”Newsome, of course, likes Alabama players, but not just because they come from his alma mater.“They have good football IQ and readiness,” he said. “The other thing is their work ethic. They are very good team players. They understand team and they understand commitment.”Sylvester Croom, running backs coach with the Tennessee Titans, is a UA contemporary of Newsome’s who has followed his NFL front-office career. He sees a common thread among his former teammate’s talent acquisitions.“I don’t know if this is his philosophy or not, but I look at his roster every year, and he picks guys who are big, strong, fast, physical, and know how to win, regardless of where they come from,” Croom said. “Guys committed to winning championships. If that’s not the No.1 thing on their priority list, I don’t think he wants them to be part of their program.”If Newsome had it his way, he would have also been able to draft linebacker Dont’a Hightower (who went to the New England Patriots) and cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (who went to the Cincinnati Bengals) out of UA last year.“We can’t get them all,” he said.Newsome would also prefer to have yet another UA graduate on the roster. Baltimore let outside linebacker Jarret Johnson sign as a free agent with the San Diego Chargers after nine years with the Ravens franchise.“We had to let Jarret Johnson go,” Newsome said. “We knew he was a good player, but we have a salary cap that we have to stay within.”If Newsome is comfortable with Alabama players, there is another reason. He’s one of those recruiting fanatics.“I bleed crimson and white,” he said. “I know who these guys are when they sign with Alabama. By the time they get to the draft, I have a history with them going back to high school.”Croom believes his impact in building championship teams exceeds Newsome’s considerable impact on the playing field.“I’ve told Ozzie this, and I said it jokingly, but I think it’s true, we all know he was a great player and a Hall of Famer as a player,” Croom said. “But I think he’s a better general manager than he was a player. And that’s saying a lot. Since he’s been GM, it’s easier to count the number of years they haven’t been to the playoffs (than years they have). They were a game away from being in the (Super Bowl) last year.“I talk to him after the draft because usually he’s drafted somebody I was hoping to get at whatever team I was at. To draft players and evaluate talent, then also add in free agency, which is a tricky deal, they work out for him. He knows how to build a roster. The other thing people don’t realize, is Ozzie has a lot to do with building the coaching staff. He’s done a tremendous job of adding pieces on that coaching staff as well. I just don’t see any holes in anything that he’s done.”Newsome’s passion for Alabama comes out in any conversation. Many have expressed a desire to see him one day return to UA as athletics director. Newsome realizes the clock is running on that proposition.“That question is asked to me a lot,” he said. “I have a great job here, an unbelievable job. When I do retire from here, I may play golf and tailgate.”Being an Alabama fan is fun for Newsome.“I’ve been to three national championship games,” he said, “because it fit into my schedule. I enjoy it.“On some Saturdays, I’m so worn out from watching Alabama games that I have to recharge because we have a Ravens game on Sunday. I get so involved with it and expend so much energy.”

Reach Tommy Deas at tommy@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0224.

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